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| Afghanistan |
| Cargo planes drop groceries for Afghans |
| 2001-10-08 |
Crew members of two American C-17 cargo planes hugged and exchanged high-fives Monday on returning safely to their base after dropping 35,000 food packets over Afghanistan. The overnight operation was meant to underscore that the U.S.-led military attacks carried out simultaneously were not aimed at civilians. The cargo planes were airborne for 24 hours, dropping the packets from high altitudes onto areas in southern and eastern Afghanistan where the civilian need was deemed greatest. ``It did present dangers with the high altitude and the potential ground threat,'' Air Force Col. Bob Allardice told reporters at the United States' Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany after the planes landed. He would not comment on whether the planes encountered any hostilities, but the 20-person crew, attached to the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, was unharmed and in high spirits. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |